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History of Egypt, 1382-1469 A.D. (Part III, 1412-1422 A.D.) by William Popper; Idem, Egyptand Syria under the Circassian Sultans, 1382-1468 A.D.Review by: A. S. EhrenkreutzArs Orientalis, Vol. 4 (1961), pp. 428-430Published by: Freer Gallery of Art, The Smithsonian Institution and Department of the Historyof Art, University of MichiganStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4629168 .

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428 BOOK REVIEWS

ards of Professor Creswell's books. There would not be any more fitting tribute to him than to wish that, in the years to come, as much progress will be made in our knowledge of these areas as was made by him in Egypt.

OLEG GRABAR

History of Egypt, I382-I469 A.D. (Part III, 14I2-I422 A.D. ) Translated by William Popper from the Arabic annals of Abu I-Mahasin Ibn Taghri Birdi. University of California Publications in Semitic Philology, I7, I957. Idem, Egypt and Syria under the Circassian Sultans, I382-I468 A.D. System- atic notes to Ibn Taghrl Birdi's Chronicles of Egypt, pt. 2. Ibid., i6, I957.

Although these two contributions of Pro- fessor Popper form an integral part of his monumental treatment of Ibn Taghrl Birdi's Chronicles, they are not alike as far as their functional character is concerned. The first of them contains a translation of a section of the annals, covering a period between A.D. I4 I 2-

22, whose corresponding Arabic version was edited in I915-23.1 Through this highly com- petent presentation Professor Popper made yet another part of the important Egyptian source accessible to historians unfamiliar with the Arabic language. It is obvious that the primary value of Ibn Taghrl Birdi's Chroni- cles consists in their information pertaining to political developments in the Egypt of the Middle Ages. But they are also rich in data which should interest historians engaged in the study of Islamic art and archaeology. This is also true of the section under review, which contains numerous details referring to archi- tectural activities of al-Mu'ayyad (A.D. 14I 2-

27), and particularly to the famous mosque of the sultan in question. Marble needed for its construction "was sought in every region, be-

' Univ. Calif. Publ. Sem. Philol., 6, pt. I, 1915, pp. 303-476; pt. 2, I920-23, pp. 477-553.

ing taken even from dwellings, courts, and the places which were (known) as 'houses of joy.' From that day marble became scarce in Egyp- tian houses because of the extent to which it was required by the size and width of this mosque; for it was the most beautiful mosque built in Cairo as regards its ornateness, and its marble, not as regards the roughness (sic 1) of its construction and its solidity" (p. 41).

Ibn Taghri Birdi attests the story concerning the "borrowings" in that mosque, which were reported by al-Maqrlzi2 and confirmed by a number of modern authorities.3 "No fault was found with al-Malik al-Mu'ayyad in any phase of the building of this mosque except that he took the door of the college mosque of Sultan Hasan and the candelabrum which was there" (p. 4I). Difficulties arising from the faulty construction of one of the minarets of the same mosque were not only repeated after al-Maqrizi,4 but even independently inter- preted: " 'fault of stone' is what actually hap- pened in the case of this minaret, for its foundation was built with small stone, then its upper part was built with large stone, and this caused its inclination and destruction after it had been completed" (p. 63) .

Quite different is the character of the sec- ond volume under review. It contains system- atically presented notes pertaining to various aspects of life in the Mamluk state, and is con- ceived as a means toward a better understand- ing of the text of Ibn Taghri Birdl. The pres- ent volume, the last in the series of such collec- tanea,5 begins with a discussion of the ethnic

2Al-Maqrizl, Kitab al-Mawa'iz wa-l-I'tibair bi- Dhikr al-Khitat wa-l-Amsar, Cairo, A.D. I853, ii/329.

3 Cf. Max Herz Bey, La mosque'e du sultan .Hassan au Caire, Le Caire, I899, pp. 6, I4. Also, Ministry of Waqfs, The mosques of Egypt, Cairo, I949, ii/78. Also, L. Hautecoeur et G. Wiet, Les mosquees du Caire, I932, I, 308.

4 Al-Maqrizi, loc. cit. 5 The first volume was The Cairo Nilometer,

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BOOK REVIEWS 429

composition of various social groups referred to by Ibn Taghrl Birdi. It is followed by a few brief chapters devoted to the problem of names and titles, official documents and diplomas, the calendar, measures and weights. By far the most interesting part of the volume consists of a very detailed study of economic matters. It is divided into three main sections: Currency and exchange (domestic); food prices; in- come: fiefs, salaries. Apart from explaining relevant technical terms occurring in the Chronicles," Professor Popper compiled eco- nomic data recorded by Ibn Taghri Birdi, pre- senting them also in tabular form. Along with the pioneering study of Sauvaire,7 and a more recent contribution of Strauss (Ashtor),8 the materials produced by Professor Popper will prove of great help to historians who like to rely on statistical evidence in considering eco- nomic developments of Mamluk Egypt. These materials were tabulated by Professor Popper according to the following categories: Cur- rency and exchange in Cairo, A.D. I382-I469; food prices in Cairo, A.D. I382-1497; income of the military class; endowment stipends

Univ. Calif. Publ. Sem. Philol., I2, I95I. The sec- ond, Egypt and Syria under the Circassian Sultans, pt. i, ibid., I5, I955.

6 In discussing the term hariah or muharjah, Pro- fessor Popper felt uncertain as to the vocalization, form, and etymology (p. 45). Actually, al-Maqrlzi defined the harajah as being "Islamic gold, free of any admixtures" (Kita.b as-Sulu2k, British Mus. MS., Or. 2902, fol. 22b). Further details pertaining to this type of gold may be found in this reviewer's Extracts from the Technical Manual on the Ayyu'bid Mint in Cairo, BSOAS, vol. 15, pt. 3 (1954), pp. 434-436.

7 H. Sauvaire, Materiaux pour servir a l'histoire de la numismatique et de la metrologie musulmanes, JA, I4(I879), and other vols.

8 E. Strauss (Ashtor), Prix et salaires a l'epoque mamelouke, REI, I950, pp. 56-7I.

9 It seems proper to mention here that this prob- lem has recently been treated by D. Ayalon, The system of payment in Mamluk military society, Jour- nal of Economic and Social History of the Orient, vol. I(I957), pp. 37-65.

(monthly) in Mu'ayyad and Qa'it Bai Deeds. To facilitate an interpretation of these data, Professor Popper evaluated them also in terms of United States dollars. The adoption of the dollar as a common denominator was resorted to on the ground that the official currency of the Mamluiks as well as that of the United States had gold for its basis. Although the author emphasizes that this procedure "is for purposes of comparison with other cur- rencies, and has no implications with respect to purchasing power" (p. 45), I nevertheless question the validity of the parity in this other- wise convenient device.10 Truly, the price of gold prevailing in the United States before I934 could rightly be accepted for the con- version of the danars or mithqals into United States currency. But I am disturbed by Pro- fessor Popper's statement that "The fineness of the gold in the gold coin, the dinar or mnithqal, issued by the Mameluke sultans of the XVth century remained constant at .979" (p. 4 )0. Against this unsubstantiated opinion I would venture to state on the basis of my experience in handling Egyptian dina rs1' that I have serious doubts concerning the alleged high intrinsic value as well as the stability of the gold coinage of the Mamluks in the fif- teenth century. Until we properly examine numismatic evidence with the aim of ascertain- ing the metallic contents of Mamluk danars, the parity adopted by Professor Popper for his tables must remain open to question.

This shortcoming amounts to a call for an 10 A parallel device was employed by W. Hinz,

Lebensmittelpreise im Mittelalterlichen Vorderen Orient, WVelt des Orients, I954, pp. 52-70.

11 Cf. this reviewer's The standard of fineness of gold coins circulating in Egypt at the time of the Crusades, JAOS, vol. 74 (I954), pp. I62-I66; also, The crisis of dinar in the Egypt of Saladin, JAOS, vol. 76 (I956), pp. I78-I84; also, Studies in the monetary history of the Near East in the Middle Ages. The standard of fineness of some types of dinars, JESHO, vol. 2 (1959), pp. I-35.

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430 BOOK REVIEWS

investigation of yet another aspect of the his- tory of late mediaeval Egypt. A very im- portant share in its reconstruction has been contributed by Professor Popper both in the field of the publication of relevant Arabic sources and in its methodology. The two volumes under review constitute not only fur- ther evidence of his achievement in this re- spect, but an additional cause for our indebted- ness to and admiration of the great American orientalist.

A. S. EHRENKREUTZ

Early Chinese Bronzes in the City Art Mu- seum of St. Louis. By J. Edward Kidder, Jr. St. Louis (City Art Museum of St. Louis), I956. IIOpp.,34pIS.

When planning to catalogue a collection, a series of problems must be taken into con- sideration. What should be included? What may be omitted? These and others are among the basic questions to be asked. The answers depend, to a large extent, on the audience to whom the book is addressed. If the catalogue is to be presented chiefly to specialists as raw material for research, it generally should be quite different than if it were to serve as a handbook for the general public. When planned for the first group, it often contains data that for the second would best be elim- inated or presented in quite another way. Furthermore, if the catalogue is intended by the author to be used as a foil for his own par- ticular interests and theories, it would have a still different character. In any case, the pur- pose should be stated, and, if stated, should be followed; we cannot say this of J. Edward Kidder's catalogue of the early Chinese bronzes in the City Art Museum of St. Louis.

Charles Nagel, Director of the St. Louis museum, surely was aware of the problems confronting the cataloguer of the bronze col- lection, as in his preface to the volume he

writes: "Of the four classic duties of a mu- seum-acquisition, preservation, original re- search, and public education-it is the third that, for the average institution, is the hardest to perform." Moreover, he points out that "The Museum's collection of ancient Chinese bronzes is . . . of a size, range, and distinc- tion that made original research a duty and publication of that research an obligation not to be deferred." He then pays tribute to Pro- fessor Kidder's knowledge, enthusiasm for carrying out this purpose, and success in pro- ducing a catalogue that "represents a standard of scholarly treatment we could wish for all our collections."

We, then, are justified in evaluating the catalogue, at least in part, for its achievement in "original research." We should also com- pare it with others, that have been published by different museums in the United States. The other catalogues are A descriptive cata- logue of Chinese bronzes in the Freer Gallery of Art; 1 Chinese bronzes in the Buckingham Collection (Art Institute of Chicago) 2 a catalogue of the Chinese bronzes in the Alfred P. Pillsbury Collection (Minneapolis Institute of Arts).-

The St. Louis catalogue, the most recent, has one feature lacking in the others: that is, a brief historical introduction placing the bronzes in their cultural setting. In sections ranging from half a page to two or three pages, the author discusses, in order "The Early History," "The Shang Dynasty," "The Chou Dynasty," "The Ch'in Dynasty," "The Han Dynasty," "Writing and Inscriptions," "Religion," "Materials and Techniques," "Sites and Chronology in Styles." A map and a page of drawings depicting the canonical

1 By J. E. Lodge, A. G. Wenley, and J. A. Pope, Washington, D.C., I946.

2 By C. F. Kelley and Ch'en Meng-chia, Chicago, I946.

3 By B. Karlgren, Minneapolis, I952.

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